The district name is derived from city Bilesuvar. Particle “Bile” is derived from the Turkish word “bilya” which means lowland and particle “suvar” means a cavalrymen. According to sources, 10 thousand cavalrymen were deployed in these lowlands by Sassanid shah Khosrov.
Geography
Total area of the rayon is equal to 1358 km2. The rayon occupies the south-western and southern part of the Mugan plain. The territory borders upon Imishli Rayon to the north for a distance of 53 km, Saatly Rayon to the south-west for a distance of 23 km, Sabirabad Rayon for a distance of 20 km, Salyan Rayon to the east for a distance of 23 km and Neftchala Rayon for a distance of 4 km, Jalilabad Rayon to the south for a distance of 54 km, and Iran to the south for a distance of 64 km. The total length of the borders is equal to 241 km. An international customs post is in the Bilasuvar Rayon territory. The climate of Bilesuvar is rather hot, with dry summers. Temperature varies from 2 °C to 26 °C with average rainfall 260mm. Main types of soil in Bilesuvar are chestnut soils, gray meadow, steppe saline soils. Most of the area of Bilesuvar is below the sea level, 542 hectares of which are forests. Forests include deer, bears, boars, goats, wolves and etc.
History
The Persian historian Hamdullah Qazvini wrote that the medieval urban settlement of Bilasuvar was established by the emir of Buveyhi, Pilasuvar in the 10th century, and was hence named after him. In the 14th century, the city declined due to feudal civil strife. The name in Turkic means pure water falls, due to the area's numerous rivers, though given the largely flat terrain the reference to waterfalls is somewhat misleading. In 1930, Bilasuvar Rayon was created with a center in Pushkin Settlement. In 1938, the rayon was renamed to Pushkin Rayon. In 1963, the territory was united with Jalilabad Rayon, and in 1964, it became an independent rayon again. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, it returned to its historic name and was renamed to Bilasuvar Rayon again. Important historical findings include ruins of Shahriyar-tepe which belong to Middle Ages, the Shakhriyar fortress which was built in Iron Age, Kosha-tepe mound which also belongs to Iron Age. In city Bilesuvar ruins of Icheri Aghdam village and Shahriyar fortress were found. They also belong to the Middle Ages.
Local economy
Bilesuvar is mainly an agricultural region. Main economic activities are livestock breeding, grain, and cotton cultivation. In 2017 41298 heads of large and 138927 of small cattle were registered. Overall, fertile soil amount is 113 thousand hectares, 42.5 thousand of which are sown and remaining are used for pastures. In Soviet-era, 4 state farms were operating in region. Bunch of agricultural enterprises also operate in the region, such as “LLC Biləsuvar-Aqro”,” Azəryoltikinti”, the cotton company "Biləsuvar-Pambıq" and etc.
Infrastructure
The district has 9 hospitals with 520 beds, 6 medical clinics, and center for epidemiology, 11 medical centers. Furthermore, district contains 16 post offices.
Population
According to the State Statistics Committee, as of 2018, the population of city was 102,400 persons, which increased by 26,400 persons from 76,000 persons in 2000. 51,600 of total population are men, 50,800 are women. More than 26.7 percent of the population consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29.
